Perceptions

State Health Department

My High School and Middle School

My Hometown

The Media

Final Thoughts

Data

Links

The California state government has a required school health curriculum that all public schools must follow. Education Code §51934 (2003) requires HIV/AIDS prevention instruction to all pupils in grades 7 to 12 at least once in junior high or middle school and at least once in high school.[1] There are more than a dozen more specific laws that cover HIV, STD, and pregnancy prevention education. Interestingly, although abstinence may be taught as an option for preventing STDs and HIV, abstinence-only education is not permitted.[2]

The California department of Education, the California department of Health Services and the American Red Cross of Orange County created a six-lesson curriculum aimed toward middle- and high-school students for HIV/AIDS prevention, but California schools are not required to follow a specific curriculum when teaching about HIV/STD prevention. To help teachers put together an effective prevention education curriculum, the California department of Education released guidelines called Putting It All Together: Program Guidelines and Resources for State-Mandated HIV/AIDS Prevention Education in California Middle and High Schools (2003). Teachers are required to notify parents when their children will be participating in these programs, and parents may opt out their children in writing at any time.